Another Try
by sundayxmorningx
Summary: "It has been so long," she emphasized the 'so.' "Five years," he counted. Slightly inspired by "Umbrella" part 1 and the songs on that episode.


**A/N: I don't own Degrassi.  
This was slightly inspired by "Umbrella (part 1)."  
"Umbrella (part 1)" wasn't satisfying for me… more specifically, the ending. Idk, I try to clarify it here. I hope you all get it cuz it makes sense in my mind. Yeah… Review when you're done and tell me how you felt about the episode!  
Italics = flashbacks.**

* * *

Five years.

It had been five years since Eli and Clare last spoke.

_"We're really different, aren't we?" she asked._

_"Opposites attract," he reasoned._

_"And get married, and have kids, and get divorced…" she ranted._

_"Clare, we're not your parents," he interrupted._

_Silence._

_"I'll call you later," she got up and left._

_She never did._

Eli stood in front of Clare's apartment that she shared with Alli. He got the address from Adam.

_"I think we should break up," she said._

_The words stunned him for a second, "Is that what you want?"_

_She nodded, avoiding his eyes, "It's for the best."_

_"I just want you to be happy…" he whispered, "And if this will make you happy…"_

_"It was nice," she said, "I'll always have fond memories."_

_"Me too," he said, "me too."_

_He went home that night and cried._

After minutes of debating, Eli finally knocked on the door. He was greeted by the person who was always in his thoughts.

"Eli," Clare sounded surprised.

"Hey Clare," he tried to keep his voice steady.

_"You came to my graduation!" she enveloped him into a tight hug._

_He laughed and hugged her back, "Of course. I am your best friend after all."_

_"Ahem," Alli's voice chimed in._

_"Best **guy**friend," he clarified._

_She laughed and hugged him tighter._

They took a seat on the couch. Clare pulled her knees up and faced him. Eli kept his feet on the floor but angled himself to face her.

"How have you been?" her voice was soft.

"I'm good," he replied, "I'm in town for a bit so I thought I'd drop by and see some familiar faces."

Her eyes sparkled, "I'm so glad you dropped by."

"And how are you?" he asked.

"I'm good," she answered, "I've got the day off today and I've got the place to myself. Alli spent the night at Drew's."

He nodded. There was so much he wanted to say, but it was too soon to say it all.

"It has been so long," she emphasized the 'so.'

"Five years," he counted.

She adjusted herself on the couch and smiled, "So tell me what you have been up to."

_"You're leaving," she said as a statement rather than a question._

_He continued to pack, "I wish I could stay…"_

_She nodded, understanding._

_"And our friendship was finally going so well," she mentioned._

_He sighed, "I can't just be friends with you, Clare. I like you **too much.**_

_"Eli," she was cautious, "You and I could never…"_

_"I know," he didn't want her to finish._

_"I'll miss you," her voice was sincere._

_He looked her straight in the eyes, "You know I'll miss you too."_

The pair spent hours catching up. It was getting close to dinner time and Eli was supposed to meet up with Adam. He really didn't want to go, but he was scared of what would happen if he stayed longer. Sure, the conversation started off nicely, but what if he were to say something that would trigger the wrong reaction? Or what if Clare would say something that would cause him to fight back?

"It was great seeing you, Eli," she got up and gave him a hug.

"It was great seeing you too," he returned the hug, "I'm glad I was able to drop by."

"Let me know if you're free any other time while you're visiting," Clare said, "We can get some coffee or something."

"I'd like that," he really did.

They released each other. Eli headed for the door.

"Don't make yourself a stranger," Clare said.

"I most definitely won't," he replied.

They shared a smile before Eli closed the door behind him.

_He faced her, "Now, how are you going to thank me for throwing Simpson off your scent?"_

_She crossed her arms and smiled, "Well, what did you have in mind?"_

_"Oh, I don't know…"_

_He moved his face closer until his lips captured hers. She hesitated before kissing back. He pulled away first, realizing what he had done._

_"I have a French exam," he announced._

_"I think you just passed," she was breathless._

_He smirked before leaving._

Eli slowly walked to his car, which was parked a few buildings away. It really was great to catch up with Clare again. Maybe they could rebuild their friendship. He wanted her back in his life.

"Eli!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. He saw Clare running towards him. She flung herself at him and hugged him as if her life depended on it. Eli instinctively held on to her like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed out.

Eli let go of Clare and saw that she was crying.

"For what?" he looked concerned.

"Everything!" tears continued to flow out, "For never calling you back after Little Miss Steakhouse, for thinking we could never work, for breaking up with you, for convincing myself that we could only be just friends, for letting you slip away… oh gosh, I was horrible to you! And you still came to visit! You came to visit me…"

"Shh, Clare, shh…" Eli rubbed her back, "It's ok… It's not like I was any better. I didn't fight for us… I just ran away. I distanced myself from you."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

He sighed, "Clare, when you came to my house saying that you wanted to sleep with me, I knew you didn't mean it. You were going through that phase of rebellion and taking risks because of your parents. Then I told you about me and Julia and you thought you had to compete with that. You never had to, Clare. You are who you are and I fell for you. You have beliefs and I respect that. What if we did sleep together that night? The aftermath of that would have been so much worse."

She remained silent for a few minutes. He was right.

"You were always so good to me," Clare mumbled into his shirt, "I don't deserve you."

"I've been telling myself that for years," he bitterly laughed.

"We could have been so good for each other," she looked up at him, "Even if we are totally opposite."

"We're not that different from each other," he said, "And how do you know we can't be good for each other now?"

Clare looked at Eli, blinking the remaining tears away. Eli scanned her face, waiting for her to reply.

"You want to give us another try?" she asked.

"I've never stopped thinking about you since I left," he said, "I kept thinking of what could have been. I have you back in my life and I don't ever plan on letting go."

"If you're not doing anything after dinner," she started, "Why don't you come back to my place? We can catch up some more."

He smiled, "I'll call you when I'm done."

She said softly, "I'll be waiting."

Eli smiled at Clare. They exchanged in a lingering hug.

It was a start.

* * *

**A/N: Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a safe and fun time! I hope everyone has awesome costumes! I wanted to go as Little Red Riding Hood, but I don't have anywhere to go. Seriously, can I be any more boring? Wow. Anyway, here's my little story. Thank you for reading! Please please review!**


End file.
